Best Buy Bows Exclusive Elton John’s ‘Red Piano’

Best Buy Oct. 28 will street The Red Piano on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and vinyl — the second exclusive distribution deal between the Minneapolis-based retail chain and pop artist Elton John.

Piano features 14 songs (including classics “Candle in the Wind,” “Believe” and “Rocket Man”) culled from John’s long-running show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. In 2004, Best Buy and the veteran John partnered for the multiple-disc CD and DVD release of Dream Ticket.

The two-disc DVD set ($24.99) and Blu-ray Disc set ($29.99, with two-CD live audio soundtrack) also feature a documentary about the making of Piano, including footage of John discussing his reasoning behind the show.

Sales of music video DVDs increased 18.6% to 27.5 million units in 2007, generating nearly $485 million in revenue, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Best Buy has cornered the market on DVD/CD/Blu-ray artist exclusives, including the Nov. 11 release The Police’s Live Certifiable, recorded in Buenos Aires last December; the Rolling Stones’ Four Flicks and Tom Petty’s Runnin' Down A Dream, among others.

Much of the art and photography included in Piano comes from David LaChappelle and features neon sculptures, pop art, baubles, balloons and images of John’s band.

The multidisc release is timed to coincide with John’s return engagements at Caesar’s Palace Oct. 22 to Nov. 9, and Feb. 3 to April 22, 2009.

“Our customers showed they were fans of Elton John by the success we had with the Dream Ticket DVD set,” said Gary Arnold, senior entertainment officer with Best Buy.